2005 Speeches

Ceremonial Launch of the C-CETT Program in Trinidad and Tobago

Feb. 23, 2005

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Ceremonial Launch of the C-CETT Program in Trinidad and Tobago
Crowne Plaza Hotel

Honorable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago;
Honorable Hazel Manning, Minister of Education, Trinidad and Tobago;
Professor Errol Miller, Caribbean Center for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) Project Director, Joint Board for Teacher Education, Jamaica;
Mr. Martin Baptiste, Caribbean CETT Coordinator for the Eastern Caribbean;
Dr. Carol Sakoian, Vice President, Scholastic Inc.;
Ms. Cheryl Kim, Education and Human Resources Division Education Team Leader, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
Ms. Margaret Sancho, Director, Office of General Development (Health and Education), USAID/Jamaica-Caribbean;
Dr. Sonjai Reynolds-Cooper, CETT Education Advisor, USAID/Jamaica-Caribbean;
ProQuest Regional Director for the Caribbean: TBA

Good morning! Before I came to Trinidad and Tobago in my present capacity, once I entered primary school, I had spent only 21 months of my life outside of the classroom. Let me state that another way. Even excluding my many years as a student, I have labored in educational vineyards for 36 years. You should, therefore, be able to understand the pleasure I feel over my participation in the national launching of this educational program, one of the Caribbean Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training. My pleasure is doubled because the program began as an initiative of U.S. President George W. Bush, announced at the Summit of the Americas in April 2001. Furthermore, who will not feel boundless joy at being associated with the extension of a program capable of minimizing the number of “children left behind,” of nurturing young minds better able to meet the challenges of an ever more complex world, of reducing in future years the level of crime in our communities? Yes, CETT can do all of this.

We at the U.S. Embassy truly believe that children are a nation’s future. We have demonstrated that belief by investing in Servol’s Early Childhood Education Program, in joint projects with Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Education, in graduation speeches in primary and secondary schools that try to inspire high educational aspirations, by providing musical instruments for the Cadet Force, and in other ways. Our most recent collaboration with the Ministry of Education was on the production of this year’s edition of the Ambassador’s Song and Verse contest which was held in January, and involved over 5,000 students as contestants or audience members. The Ministry and the students of T&T have our Embassy’s pledge to stay involved in helping them develop into adults that will bring their country a secure, proud and happy future.

Our activities with the Ministry of Education have convinced us of the commitment of the personnel of the Ministry to providing quality programming for its teachers and students. This commitment was exemplified, too, by Minister Hazel Manning’s efforts to develop CETT programs in Trinidad and Tobago. I have been informed that Minister Manning early recognized the potential value of CETT for the education of her country’s children. Following the official launching of C-CETT in Jamaica in April 2003, she closely monitored the progress of the program, became convinced of its utility, and initiated preparations for Trinidad and Tobago’s inclusion a year earlier than intended in the original C-CETT implementation plan.

I applaud Minster Manning and her staff for developing exactly the kind of private/public partnership that President Bush envisioned when he announced the CETT initiative at the Summit of Americas in April 2001. In addition to funding the preparatory work for CETT in T&T and budgeting 6 million TT dollars for CETT activities this year, the Government mobilized private sector support and was successful in developing substantial partnerships with British Petroleum, PetroTrin and Mohammed Book Company. I applaud these companies whose financial and other material contributions to CETT show their commitment to helping to ensure a bright future for Trinidad and Tobago’s children.

Trinidad and Tobago’s accomplishment is all the more impressive because its active participation in the C-CETT is beginning, as Minister Manning desired, one year ahead of the program schedule. With the addition of T&T, the number of countries participating in CETT is seven, with T&T now having the largest number of primary schools participating, a total of 55 across the two sister islands. In this country, over 265 grades 1-3 teachers will participate in CETT activities that will be facilitated by a local technical team of 9 Reading Specialists and 3 Information Communication Technician Specialists.

Understandably, USAID has begun citing Trinidad and Tobago’s example as a best practice for the development of public/private sector partnerships that can be replicated by others.

Of course, without the private sector there would be no such partnership. As President Bush understood when announcing this initiative, private companies, organizations, and individuals have a great stake in the education that our children receive. Those same children that will benefit from CETT are the leaders, workers, and citizens of tomorrow.

Finally, I thank the people of USAID who saw Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment to CETT and moved quickly to get the program started here. Although USAID has no presence on the ground here in T&T, our Embassy is working on a few projects with this agency’s offices in Jamaica. We know how dedicated the people of USAID are when it comes to improving the lives of the citizen’s of the Caribbean region and the world.

I look forward to working with you all on CETT in Trinidad and Tobago, and to watching you begin the moulding of minds that will help to advance this country to unimaginable heights of social and economic development.

I thank you.